The Race Is On as 20-Year-Old Beats Out More Than 1,200 Contenders
For Immediate Release:
May 24, 2011
Contact:
Robbyn Brooks 202-483-7382
Olathe, Kansas — What does 15-year-old Olathe resident Ashley Elkiwan have in common with actor Olivia Wilde? Wilde was a winner of PETA's Sexiest Vegetarian Alive contest, and Elkiwan is one of the female finalists in the spin-off Cutest Vegetarian Alive contest sponsored by peta2, PETA's youth division. Elkiwan beat out more than 1,200 contestants from across the U.S. Supporters can check out finalists by visiting peta2.com and can click here to find out how to vote via text message to help peta2 select the winners. Two winners (one male and one female) will be announced on June 6, and each will win a professional photo shoot and star in a peta2 ad.
"More and more Americans are going vegetarian every day, and young people are leading the charge," says peta2 Division Manager Marta Holmberg. "It's no wonder: On average, vegetarians are slimmer, trimmer, and generally healthier than meat-eaters, so they're bound to be a lot cuter too!"
Elkiwan, a freshman at Olathe East High School, has been a vegetarian since the third grade. She made the choice to stop eating meat because she believes that all living beings deserve to live a happy, cruelty-free life. Elkiwan speaks to others about the benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle and says that two of her friends have also made the decision to stop eating meat because of their discussions. In addition to her food choices, Elkiwan helps animals in other ways. She writes essays for class projects about going vegetarian and the cruelty of using fur for fashion and has adopted three stray cats, all of whom have been spayed or neutered.
To view photos and bios of all the finalists and to vote in the contest to help peta2 decide the winners, please click here. To vote for Elkiwan, text "Ashley" to 73822.